Essa signs onto Collingwood pipeline
by Richard Blanchard

Essa township has agreed to buy water from the Collingwood - New Tecumseth pipeline.

Essa Council passed a bylaw at last week's council meeting which will see the township buy 100 cubic meters of water from the pipeline.

It will be used primarily to serve the hamlet of Baxter which is being required to upgrade its water system due to the poor quality of local water.

Some water will also be taken in Angus to supplement the existing water supply but the bulk of the water used there will continue to come from local wells.

About 53 cubic meters will be used in Baxter while 47 cubic meters will be used in Angus. The township was required to buy a minimum 100 cubic meters per day.

Essa township CAO Greg Murphy said that the final figure to hook into the pipeline has not been finalized.

"It's going to be in the $140,000 range," he said. Murphy added that the charge per cubic metre charge is also not firm because of proposed upgrades to the waterworks in Collingwood.

Essa council recently approved tenders to upgrade the water system within Baxter. The work will begin this spring with the water to flow from the pipeline after their completion.